Tooth for an Eye: A Chorography of Violence in Orleans Parish #04-23 2008 - 2011

Deborah Luster made this piece, Tooth for an Eye: A Chorography of Violence in Orleans Parish #04-23, using photography to explore themes of place and memory. The high contrast monochrome palette gives the image an austere quality. On the left, we see text, almost like handwritten notes, contrasted with the ghostly photographic image on the right, it’s a circle within a square, which is a structure that fascinates me! The grainy texture gives the piece an immediacy, like a snapshot of a memory. It makes me think about how photographs can both capture a moment and simultaneously obscure it. I’m drawn to the reflections and distortions in the shop window. It reminds me of the way history is never a clear or straightforward narrative, but rather a layering of perspectives and experiences. Luster's work makes me think of Robert Frank's, whose gritty street photography also captured a certain American unease. Both artists embrace the idea that art doesn't always have to be pretty; it can be raw, uncomfortable, and challenging.